PALM SPRINGS: The influence of chief marketing officers in large organisations has increased markedly in recent years, with this group being afforded a newfound respect by their C-suite colleagues, a leading industry figure has said.

Well into the first decade of the 21st century, senior leadership at major global enterprises largely shared the same perception: "The chief marketing officer was a big spender who had little respect from the board."

But that has now changed, according to Bob Liodice, president/ceo of the Association of National Advertisers (ANA). "The CMO has become an equal management peer, with a shared sense of business responsibility," he told delegates at the Interactive Advertising Bureau's (IAB) Annual Leadership Meeting in Palm Springs, California,

Citing a Marketing2020 study conducted by the ANA and New York-based marketing strategists EffectiveBrands, Liodice said that "CMOs often have the most understanding of the transparent 365/24/7 market and they're being asked to show the way by the CEO and their peers".

He explained that CMOs were "finding the pathway" to a new business model and as a consequence had gained the CEO's confidence. "Their influence has dramatically increased," he said.

In addition, they were using that pathway to build relationships with consumers and customers in real time. (For more, read Warc's exclusive article: Three "winning" characteristics of effective marketers.)

The bottom line, said Liodice, was that "CMOs are now figuring out how to be able to build growth in a very systematic, organised way, whether that growth is captured in market share, revenue growth or income growth."

In particular, the study identified three "winning" characteristics that distinguished the work of the most effective marketers: big insights, purposeful positioning and total experience.

Data sourced from Warc